Boundary mark for marking of boundary points of grounds



J. ATTENBERGER Filed Feb. 21, 1963 INVEN TOR. JOSH Afi'E/VBLEGEE I/Ilf,

Sept. 14, 1965 BOUNDARY MARK FOR MARKING OF BOUNDARY POINTS OF enoumnsUnited States Patent 3,205,626 BUUNDARY FUR MARKHNG 6F BOUNDARY IUINTS0F GRUUNDS Josef Attenherger, Lerchenhuberweg '7, Dorfen, Germany FiledFeb. 21, 19 53, Ser. No. 266,953 Claims priority, application Germany,Feb. 22, F262, A 17,925; Apr. 2, 1962, A $9,866 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-193)The present invention relates to a boundary mark for marking offboundary points, consisting of a marking part arranged above the groundand an anchoring part fastened in the ground itself.

Such boundary marks have been made up to now of granite or a concretestone of a square shape. Such boundary stones have a long service lifeafter they are introduced into the ground, but such stones very oftenbreak before, particularly during their transport. The setting of theseboundary stones requires, furthermore, much work and time, because theyare put into the ground after a hole has been dug and they are tamped inthis hole for anchoring them. It is evident that unauthorized personscan easily shift this boundary stone after its setting with generallyusual tools. Furthermore the stones weather and decay after some timeand it is then difficult to find them in the terrain. Finally it happensrather often that the part of the boundary stone protruding over .thesurface of the ground breaks e.g. if a tractor bumps against it. In suchcases it is possible to find the part lying under the ground only byexact measurements.

The invention provides a boundary mark of the type cited above, whichdoes away with the described drawbacks and which has a long servicelife. For this purpose the boundary mark according to the inventioncomprises a marking part of a material of low specific weight, highgeneral resistance and resistance against weather influences, preferablymade of plastic material, and an anchoring part which consists of amaterial of high dimensional stability and hardness, preferably ofmetal.

By this measure not only the weight of the boundary mark is very greatlydiminished (about 2.2 lbs. as cornpared with about 44 lbs. of thegranite stones used up to now), but it becomes possible, because of thedimensional stability and the hardness of the anchoring part, to drivethe boundary mark into the ground e.g. mechanically without there beingthe necessity for digging work or later tamping. Besides the material ofthe marking part has a service durability which is at least not smallerthan that of the granite stones used up to now. It must be considered,furthermore, as an advantage, that the anchoring part consisting ofmetal can be found easily in those cases in which the marking part wasbroken off by any outer influences. It is, indeed, possible to find theunderground anchoring part made of metal easily by means of knownelectric iron detecting devices provided for this purpose.

It is preferable that the marking part consists of a shaft and of amarking head fastened in a seat on the upper shaft end. In this case themarking head can carry out the actual function of the marking, bypainting the upper surface of the marking head, e.g. with a colourvisible from far away. This surface may be provided also in its centerwith a concave point or a cross, which facilitates a very exact settingof the boundary mark and an exact survey.

A further feature of the invention is that the anchoring part mayconsist of a point having a boring thread. Such a measure has theconsequence that the penetration of the boundary mark into the soil canbe effected mechanically and that besides no deviation from thepredetermined spot takes place when the boundary mark penetrates in theground. It is also necessary to use special tools to remove such aboundary mark and these tools are not at the disposal of everybody, sothat a later unauthorized removal is rendered considerably difficult.

It is favourable, in this connection, if the marking part has on itsupper end a polygonal head, by means of which the rotational movement ofsame by means of a machine is facilitated. It is also preferred that theshaft of the marking part is tubular. It is known, indeed, that tubesare rather torsion-proof so that a tub-e of plastic material cantransfer the rotational moments introduced by the machine to the metalpoint with boring thread, without there being any danger of breaking. Inorder to insure v that there is no additional resistance against thethreadingin of the marker, if not only the anchoring part but also thelower portion of the marking part is threaded into the ground, the shaftof the marking part is preferably of a circular section.

The invention is based on the idea to shaping the boundary mark,contrary to the earlier configuration of the boundary marks of solidstone without any difference between the marking part, and the anchoringpart in such a way that at least the marking part is of a relativelylight weight. This may be obtained according to the invention also bythe fact that the marking part may consist of a metal tube and of amarking head arranged on its upper end, While the anchoring part is madeof metal.

Further features of the invention are described in the followingdescription in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which twoembodiments of the invention are shown.

FIGURE 1 shows a side view of the new boundary mark of the invention.

FIGURE 2 shows a top view of said boundary mark.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View taken along the line IIIIII in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 shows a fragment of a second embodiment of the new boundarymark in central cross section.

In the embodiment according to FIGURES 1 and 2 the boundary markconsists of a cubic head 2 of plastic material with a White uppersurface and furthermore of a very solid, weather-resisting andacid-proof tube or rod 1 of plastic material. The upper end of the tube1 is arranged to form a seat 1 for the cubic head 2. The fastening ofthe head 2 in the seat 1' can take place in any known manner, e.g. as bygluing or by screwing. At the lower end of the tube 1 of plasticmaterial a metal point 3 is provided, preferably of cast iron or steel,which point 3 is provided with a boring thread 4 which serves not onlyfor the easy threading of the mark into the ground but simultaneouslyfor the fastening of the mark in the ground. The fastening of theanchoring part 3, 4 on the lower end of the tube 1 of plastic materialcan be made in any known manner, e.g. by screwing, riveting, pressing onor the like. In respect of the weight on the one hand and visibility andservice durability on the other hand it has been found particularlyadvantageous, if the boundary mark has a length of 300 to 1200 mm. andif the tube serving as head has an edge length of 50 to 200 mm. In somecases it is necessary that besides the marking off above the ground bymeans of the visible rod 1 also an additional underground marking mustbe carried out. For this purpose a second month piece (not shown) ofsimilar configuration can be mounted above, or on top of, the point 3,which is first driven respectively threaded into the ground by means ofthe boundary mark. Thereafter the boundary mark above the ground isreleased by a backward rotation from the additional mouth piece, whichmay be similar to the cone 12 shown in FIGURE 4, and this latter remainsin the ground. Thereafter, the boundary mark with the visible markingpart above the ground can be threaded anew into the ground at the sideof the mouth piece, so that a double marking-off is achieved. By a knownelectric iron detector the underground boundary mark can be foundwithout any difficulty even if the boundary mark with the part 1 abovethe ground has been removed by someone. The said additional mouth piececonsists of a metal which can be easily and surely indicated by an irondetector. The additional mouth piece is generally of a similarconfiguration as the point 3 of the boundary mark, i.e. the mouth piecemay have likewise a boring thread, but isof a hollow configuration, sothat after the threading-in of the mouth piece by means of theadditional boundary mark the mouth piece is released from the boundarymark by a backward rotation of this latter and thus remains firmly inthe ground because of its own thread.

In most cases the new boundary mark can be threaded into the groundwithout any difliculty. In case of stony ground a hole may be boredlikewise mechanically by means of a boring chisel and into this hole theboundary mark can be threaded in.

It must be emphasized that the tube 1 need not consist in any case ofplastic material. Because of the configuration of this part above theground a low weight is obtained even if this tube consists e.g. of astainless steel.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the new boundary mark which iseasy to manufacture and particularly resistant, is shown in FIGURE 3. Inthis case the portion of the boundary mark above the ground consists ofan inner steel tube 5, over which an outer plastic tube 6 is pulled. Onthe upper end of the tubes 5, 6 there is fastened again in known mannera cubic marking head 2. On the upper side of this head cams 8 areprovided, which facilitate the threading-in of the boundary mark bymeans of a boring machine. upper side of the head 2 and in its center,which point serves as an exact marking. This point 9 can be shaped alsoin such a way that it can be taken out and for this purpose it may bearranged in a hole in the head 2. Into this hole a ranging rod may beintroduced when measuring or when boundary lines are drawn, so that thetime consuming setting of the ranging rods becomes unnecessary.

The lower end of the steel tube protrudes somewhat below the tube 6 ofplastic material. In this manner the steel point 3 can be fastened onthe lower end of the steel tube 5. For this purpose it is only necessaryto arrange a weld seam in the hollow spaces 11 between the upper end ofthe steel point 3 and the lower end of the steel tube 5. The plastictube 6 can be pulled over after the point 3 has been welded on, so thatthe weld seams 11 are covered by the lower extremity of the plastic tubeThere is, besides, a point 9 on the 6. The steel point 3 is of hollowconfiguration and carries a boring thread 4 made of steel sheet metaland welded to the point 3. A further very hard point 12, preferably ofcast iron, is placed over the point 3. For this purpose the cast ironpoint 12 has helicoidal recesses into which the boring thread 4-engages.

' The plastic cover on the metal tube 5 need not absolutely consist of aplastic tube. The plastic cover may also be applied in other ways e.g.by dipping the tube 5.

It must be emphasized that the invention is not limited to the shown anddescribed embodiments, but that the boundary mark may be manufacturedalso of one, two or several parts and furthermore fully or partially ofplastic material, metal or wood. The head of the boundary mark may,furthermore, have any shape or colour.

I claim:

1. A readily visible device for marking the boundaries of land, saiddevice being engageable by a torque applying tool, comprising:

an elongated cylindrical and metallic tube of substantially uniformdiameter having upper and lower ends;

a cone-shaped point rigidly secured to the lower end of said tube andconverging downwardly and coaxially therefrom;

a helical boring thread fixed on said point, said thread being adaptedto move said point into the ground in response to rotation of aid tube;

a substantially polygonal and plastic head rigidly secured on and aroundthe upper end of said tube and extending radially of said tube beyondthe side walls thereof for engagement by the torque applying tool,whereby said tube can be rotated around its lengthwise axis, said headhaving an easily visible and detectable appearance, said head having asubstantially fiat and imperforate upper surface; and

a weather resistant, plastic covering embracing said tube from said headto said point.

2. A device according to claim 1,.in which the point has a similarlyshaped hollow metal point sleeved thereon and detachably securedthereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 207,518 8/78Hayden 52-165 X 504,987 9/93 Marum 52-118 1,745,517 2/30 Tyson 521571,965,639 7/34 Glass 52204 2,965,383 12/60 Steiner et a1 279-402 CHARLESE. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Examiner.

1. A READILY VISIBLE DEVICE FOR MARKING THE BOUNDARIES OF LAND, SAIDDEVICE BEING ENGAGEABLE BY A TORQUE APPLYING TOOL, COMPRISING: ANELONGATED CYLINDRICAL AND METALLIC TUBE OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMDIAMETER HAVING UPPER AND LOWER ENDS; A CONE-SHAPED POINT RIGIDLYSECURED TO THE LOWER END OF SAID TUBE AND CONVERGING DOWNWARDLY ANDCOAXIALLY THEREFROM; A HELICAL BORING THREAD FIXED ON SAID POINT, SAIDTHREAD BEING ADAPTED TO MOVE SAID POINT INTO THE GROUND IN RESPONSE TOROTATION OF SAID TUBE; A SUBSTANTIALLY POLYGONAL AND PLASTIC HEADRIGIDLY SECURED ON AND AROUND THE UPPER END OF SAID TUBE AND EXTENDINGRADIALLY OF SAID TUBE BEYOND THE SIDE WALLS THEREOF FOR ENGAGEMENT BYTHE TORQUE APPLYING TOOL, WHEREBY SAID TUBE CAN BE ROTATED AROUND ITSLENGTHWISE AXIS, SAID HEAD HAVING AN EASILY VISIBLE AND DETECTABLEAPPERANCE, SAID HEAD HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT AND IMPERFORATE UPPERSURFACE; AND A WEATHER RESISTANT, PLASTIC COVERING EMBRACING SAID TUBEFROM SAID HEAD TO SAID POINT.